Chương 1315: 1314. The Crater

Compared to the toxic vapor that had filled the tunnel, the sulfuric, cool stench of the crater was refreshing. Seth had finally escaped his subterranean adventure and entered the crater of Mt. Robere. Looking up at the edge, where he could see the last rays of the waning day, he was somewhere around the top of the lowest quarter of the crater. From this place, he could see the whole, hollow top of the mountain.

Compared to the whole thing, the crater seemed small on the map, but it was actually massive, and the blacksmith couldn't estimate how far away the other side of the crater was. As for the depth, Hellion, the Colossus of Rhodes would have easily been able to hide here, even if the golem was raising his hand in the air and jumping around. Something Seth doubted he would have been able to do, considering the look of the crater floor.

Similar to the demon district, where the demonic bards had taken advantage of the dormant volcanic activity for the crafting and created a landscape were lava flowed and volcanic gases were emitted, the floor of the crater was a similar hellscape. There were no blatantly open flows of lava at this point, but pillars of burning gases were shooting up everywhere from time to time, among the pools of boiling sludge and nondescript liquids.

Although there were no lava pools, there were other signs of ducts where lava had risen previously and could do so again at any moment. Letting out a deep sigh, Seth sat down on a boulder for a moment, taking in the view. It was not the cartoonish sight of a huge lake of lava at the bottom of the crater, but it was a different, interesting sight to take in, and now a small barefooted figure, clad in golden clothes, was added to the painting of a nightmarish apocalyptic event. Seth sat there for a while.

He watched the last rays of the sun vanish at the edge above and night fell inside the crater. He spent the whole day cutting a way through the mountain side, but nothing interesting had happened, except his short meeting with reality and the laws of physics. As he reminisced today's journey he suddenly heard something from behind. Steps?

"Just you wait until I find you, asshole. This kind of prank is not cool at all. The draft had seriously cooled down our living room! If my son gets a cold because of this, I will have your neck," angry mumbling and steps could be heard from the tunnel behind him.

"Who would be around here-" the blacksmith thought at first, but then he realized that this was no human language he was hearing, at least not common Urthan. Only on second thought did he realize that it was unintelligible gibberish that was being translated by <Universal Translation>. Observing the entrance where smoke and gases rose to the sky, he saw a glowing orange figure appear in the smoke.

Stepping out from the hazy vapor that originated somewhere in the bowels of the mountain was a humanoid that seemed to be made of glowing hot lava itself. They were covered in shells of hardened black rock and obsidian, that made it look like they wore rough armory, while the gaps exposed flesh that transitioned between glowing dark orange and bright yellow, as if magma was flowing, but kept in shape like the body of a slime. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road.

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"An elemental?" Seth whispered, surprised. He had not seen them before and only heard descriptions. It made sense that fire elementals would live in places like a volcano, but it still surprised Seth to see one. As the blacksmith didn't think the other was a player, he used <Observe> out of habit.

< Name: Valint Scor Kin of Fire Title: "Magma Bass Hunter" Age: 92 Level: 87 Race: Magma Spirit Affiliation: Remnants of the Immolat Kingdom> At first sight, Seth had been reminded of the stories about the immortal elemental dungeon the others had visited in the abyss, but it seemed like the bard had jumped to conclusions. Although elementals could take many forms, the appraisal said unmistakably that this was not one. Valint Scor also didn't count as a monster, but was a player who was part of the system.

Seth doubted there ever existed spirits on Urth... at least not in the past several millennia. Also, if he were originally from Urth, he would be an Ori-Magma Spirit. Finally, the "Remnants of the Immolat Kingdom" suggested heavily that this guy and a bunch of others fled to Urth, similar to other invaders that came through the opened Pathwork Passages all over Urth. Seth's inadvertent mutter and use og <Observe> caught the spirit's attention, and it turned the head towards him.

It was a smooth, handsome human face with irises glowing bright white like magnesium flame. Said, piercing eyes, now focused on Set, h who had spoken up.

"Hey, goldie, are you the one that punched a hole in our ceiling?" the creature voiced angrily. Seth looked at the entrance to the tunnel and considered what Valint has grumbled earlier, then he slowly nodded.

"I guess, I did?" he said, uncertain. Who would have thought that he would come across something like a magma spirit? Newborn elemental, s maybe, but a settler from a different world? Since there was someone to talk to, maybe there was a chance that his suffering today was not for naught?

"My turn, are you guys rebooting Mount Robere's volcanic activity? Or do you know why the volcano is becoming more active?" the Tower Master asked directly. Obviously, since there were people that came from outside, Seth had the suspicion that it was their fault. if it wasn't they probably knew something. Facing Seth's sudden question befuddled the spirit, and it seemed like he let go of his previous business.

he might have thought someone built a chimney as a prank, but he came to realize that this was slightly more serious.

"Who are you to ask that question?" Valint asked vigilantly. From his sudden change in tone, the bard got the idea that he had found the right people to talk to. He decided to try and create some pressure on the other.

"Just the Tower Master of Minas Mar. You know, we recently acquired... real estate in the area. That little city down there at the slope of the mountain? Yeah, that's mine, and I am a little worried about my investments. An active volcano had a bad impact on housing prices in the area," he rambled on leisurely.

"T-The tower master of Minas Mar?" the spirit asked, shocked, much to Seth's surprise. The blacksmith had not actually expected that the Spirit knew about them. He had relied on <Voice of Seth> to get a moderate amount of threat across.

"You know of us?" the blacksmith asked curious. he had not heard of any interactions between Delta and Magma spirits. Had the Peddler of Ruin invited and warned them of Minas Mar?

"Yes, Kiki keeps telling stories about the places outside whenever she comes to trade," Valint said excited, his mood had completely turned. Kiki? Seth didn't know that name, but it seemed Valint seemed to have a good opinion of Minas Mar, so that person couldn't be a servant of Merkraut Sar.

"Please wait, here. i will get the chief to meet you," he said and ran back into the tunnel, before Seth could say anything. Did he run away from Seth, or was he really going to get someone with more authority? The blacksmith was a undecided, but ultimately waited and gave Valint a chance. He decided to wait and see and if nobody returned... Seth would have to go look for them. But that next encounter would be less than peaceful.